|
|
Information and Computer Information Systems
Information Theory, is concerned with the mathematical laws governing the transmission, reception, and processing of information. More specifically, information theory deals with the numerical measurement of information, the representation of information (such as encoding), and the capacity of communication systems to transmit, receive, and process information.
Encoding can refer to the transformation of speech or images into electric or electromagnetic signals, or to the encoding of messages to ensure privacy. Information theory was first developed in 1948 by the American electrical engineer Claude E. Shannon in his article "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." The need for a theoretical basis for communication technology arose from the increasing complexity and crowding of communication channels such as telephone and teletype networks and radio communication systems.
Information theory also encompasses all other forms of information transmission and storage, including television and the electrical pulses transmitted in computers and in magnetic and optical data recording. The term information refers to the transmitted messages: voice or music transmitted by telephone or radio, images transmitted by television systems, digital data in computer systems and networks, and even nerve impulses in living organisms. More generally, information theory has been applied in such varied fields as cybernetics, cryptography, linguistics, psychology, and statistics.
